morty
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Din
Well-Known Member
Was a bit worried to come into this thread at first 
Glad I did though.
Because of where we were when he took over, a team that had one of the best squads in the Championship that were simply underperforming, Neil will never achieve at the club what Lambert did, but there is no doubting in my mind that Neil has been every bit as good a manager for us as Lambert was. I love listening to him as he just bleeds confidence, he knows exactly what he wants and he isn't at all scared to go and get it. Lambert's main attribute if you like was getting the players to play above themselves. Players like Simeon Jackson, Grant Holt, Elliott Bennett, Anthony Pilkington, David Fox, Andrew Crofts and a few others, were probably never good enough technically to be mid-table Premier League players, and others we've had probably were mid-table Championship quality, but Lambert consistently got them to be better than they actually were. Neil's main attribute however is his tactics. I've never, in my lifetime, seen a Norwich City manager set his team up as well as Neil set us up in the Play-off final. In the 48 games he's been here for I think he's probably only got his tactics wrong less than a handful of times, and in recent games where we have needed to win we've done so, and he's been largely to thank.
Even under Lambert as well, I can't remember trusting a manager to do the right thing, even when on paper it looks wrong, like I trust Neil. There have been times when I'll see the team he's picked for a game, and I'll wonder why on Earth so and so is playing. But ultimately I'll think that if Alex Neil thinks it's right then it must be, and the vast majority of the time it is. Have to give McNally and the board so much credit for this appointment. It was a massive risk but wow how it's paid off. I don't think any other manager available after Adams left would've got us up. 2015 was undoubtedly the most memorable year of my (albeit relatively short amount of) time supporting Norwich, and I don't think I'll ever celebrate a goal again like I did when Nathan Redmond put us 2-0 up after 15 minutes in the play-off final. Because of that game as well it's easy to forget that we f*cking knocked out Ipswich in the semi-finals of the play-offs! Most managers would be heroes just for that.
To me, Neil is the biggest asset we have right now. This season has had it's up's and downs but I still am incredibly confident that we'll stay up, especially with a few new editions. What's great as well is that, unlike Lambert, Neil comes across as actually quite a down to Earth, nice guy. He is ambitious, and if he continues to do a great job here then bigger clubs will come in for him, and because of his ambition he'll likely want to go, and I certainly wouldn't begrudge him a move as he does seem genuinely grateful to this club for giving him an opportunity and seems to really enjoy it here as well. When he inevitably does move on I can't see him kicking up a fuss like Lambert did. But anyway, hopefully that day is a long way off yet. As you can probably tell I, like most Norwich fans, have a lot of love for this guy. And if we continue to improve over the course of the next couple of seasons, or however long he remains here, then I may have to inform my girlfriend that I am dumping her a small, bald Scotsman.
Glad I did though.Because of where we were when he took over, a team that had one of the best squads in the Championship that were simply underperforming, Neil will never achieve at the club what Lambert did, but there is no doubting in my mind that Neil has been every bit as good a manager for us as Lambert was. I love listening to him as he just bleeds confidence, he knows exactly what he wants and he isn't at all scared to go and get it. Lambert's main attribute if you like was getting the players to play above themselves. Players like Simeon Jackson, Grant Holt, Elliott Bennett, Anthony Pilkington, David Fox, Andrew Crofts and a few others, were probably never good enough technically to be mid-table Premier League players, and others we've had probably were mid-table Championship quality, but Lambert consistently got them to be better than they actually were. Neil's main attribute however is his tactics. I've never, in my lifetime, seen a Norwich City manager set his team up as well as Neil set us up in the Play-off final. In the 48 games he's been here for I think he's probably only got his tactics wrong less than a handful of times, and in recent games where we have needed to win we've done so, and he's been largely to thank.
Even under Lambert as well, I can't remember trusting a manager to do the right thing, even when on paper it looks wrong, like I trust Neil. There have been times when I'll see the team he's picked for a game, and I'll wonder why on Earth so and so is playing. But ultimately I'll think that if Alex Neil thinks it's right then it must be, and the vast majority of the time it is. Have to give McNally and the board so much credit for this appointment. It was a massive risk but wow how it's paid off. I don't think any other manager available after Adams left would've got us up. 2015 was undoubtedly the most memorable year of my (albeit relatively short amount of) time supporting Norwich, and I don't think I'll ever celebrate a goal again like I did when Nathan Redmond put us 2-0 up after 15 minutes in the play-off final. Because of that game as well it's easy to forget that we f*cking knocked out Ipswich in the semi-finals of the play-offs! Most managers would be heroes just for that.
To me, Neil is the biggest asset we have right now. This season has had it's up's and downs but I still am incredibly confident that we'll stay up, especially with a few new editions. What's great as well is that, unlike Lambert, Neil comes across as actually quite a down to Earth, nice guy. He is ambitious, and if he continues to do a great job here then bigger clubs will come in for him, and because of his ambition he'll likely want to go, and I certainly wouldn't begrudge him a move as he does seem genuinely grateful to this club for giving him an opportunity and seems to really enjoy it here as well. When he inevitably does move on I can't see him kicking up a fuss like Lambert did. But anyway, hopefully that day is a long way off yet. As you can probably tell I, like most Norwich fans, have a lot of love for this guy. And if we continue to improve over the course of the next couple of seasons, or however long he remains here, then I may have to inform my girlfriend that I am dumping her a small, bald Scotsman.
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Canaryboy
Well-Known Member
Great post Din, agree with all that, apart from the bit about Pilkington not being Premier League quality because I genuinely think he was before injuries ravaged him and took his stamina and a yard of pace. He had everything that you need at this level, could cross, score goals, and was 100% both footed, and could beat a man with a change of pace when he needed to. Just got unlucky with injuries, his inability to keep fit has rendered him a mid-table Championship player.
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